


The Chance Meeting

by Dopredo



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Civil War: Casualties of War (Marvel), F/M, Saving the World, TARDIS Rooms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-24 03:34:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17093258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dopredo/pseuds/Dopredo
Summary: Set a few days after Thanos killed half of the human race. The Doctor meets (at least half of) the Agents of SHIELD - they will have to team together to work out why the Avengers failed to defeat Thanos, and to try and defeat him themselves.





	1. The Argument

**Author's Note:**

> These next chapters are based on my predictions of round-about what I think will happen in Avengers 4. ☺

The Doctor parked the TARDIS neatly onto American soil. It was not unknown that the TARDIS had the tendency to misplace the Doctor, however this time she had been pretty accurate: May 3rd 2019, Los Angeles, California.

A few hours ago, half of the population of the world had disappeared, including Amy and Rory. The Doctor was furious, quite understandably, and was struggling to find an explanation as to why so many people had vanished (or… had dramatically turned to ash in a manner that looked an awful lot like death).  
The Doctor had tracked a massive explosion of Titan energy to a certain point in California. It seemed to be the only lead he had as to why so many people had disappeared – other than that, it seemed entirely random. In fact, it disobeyed the laws of physics entirely.

As the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, he realised where he was. The TARDIS had materialised on the side of a (almost) deserted main road. A few days ago this road would’ve had hundreds of cars whizzing by in any one second, however only days later you’d be lucky to see a car pass every minute. It was incredible, and terrifying, and reminded the Doctor of the time he had taken Amy and Rory to a bumper-car course on the planet Zumbre. That was a lot of fun… apart from all of the secret brainwashing and the fact that the course was only really there to provide food source for the Zumbre Leadership and also to cull the population… OK, perhaps not particularly fun; Rory was terrified. But at least Amy enjoyed it.

‘Oh Amy, where are you?’ the Doctor sighed, running his fingers through his hair, and rubbing his eyes, ‘where could you have gone?’

Suddenly he became aware of a sound coming from behind the trees lining the road. From where he stood, it sounded like shouting. He followed the sound until he reached the entrance of a small forest, on the side of a large, unattended cattle field. As he got closer he noticed that a group of people were huddled around the exact point where the Doctor had worked out that the Titan energy had been released. Something seemed to of caused conflict between them, as the three members – who were now set slightly apart from each other – were yelling insults at one another. As the Doctor got closer, it became more evident what they were saying.

‘Oh Jemma – what would you know about my mental health?!’

‘More than you would think, but of course you would think the worst, wouldn’t you. Perhaps you are as deranged as Daisy keeps saying—’

‘—Hey don’t drag me into this. This is between you and him. I want nothing to do with him.’

‘Yeah, yeah Daisy you’ve made that pretty evident – but I still don’t know why! What did the other me do that upset you so much? ‘Cos if this is about the framework, then sure I get it but—‘

‘This isn’t about the framework—’

‘Then what?!’

‘ Well, kind of… You know what, I’ll let your wife tell you! Jemma? Care to explain?’

‘Oh great! So now it’s up to me is it?!’ She rolled her eyes sarcastically, and glared in the direction of the girl they had named Daisy. ‘Besides, I’m not technically his wife.’ 

‘Brilliant! So now your ashamed of me—’

Suddenly the Scottish man became aware of the Doctor, and frowned. He tapped the other girl on the shoulder and nodded in the direction of the Doctor. She grimaced for a second, clearly embarrassed by their argument, and then began walking towards him. The group followed behind, Daisy still glaring at the Scot who was trying desperately to ignore her. When they got close enough, the Doctor gave them a goofy wave and smiled.

‘Hi,’ he grinned, and then frowned and became suddenly serious, ‘I’m the Doctor. And I think we’re here for the same reason…’


	2. Debate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor explains who he is to FitzSimmons and Daisy.

‘So… Who are you?’ Simmons asked, baffled, ‘How did you know we were here?’

The Doctor raised an eyebrow and tilted his head, almost as confused as her.

‘I didn’t,’ he smiled, ‘I’m here because of the Titan energy… Why are you here?’

‘Yeah, that’s us to,’ the Scot piped up, ‘just within those trees is the biggest burst of energy we could find.’ The Doctor looked towards the line of trees and nodded, knowingly. He then tuned back to the Scot, who held out a hand of acknowledgement, and named himself Fitz. After accepting the handshake, the Doctor turned to face the treeline again and then readdressed the group with a child-like enthusiasm.

‘I need to check that out!’ He beamed, flapping his hands about. The SHIELD crew looked at each other confusedly, but didn’t question him. He began to speed-walk towards the treeline, the perplexed SHIELD crew trying desperately to keep up with him. Once they arrived at the correct spot, the Doctor knelt to the ground and licked the dirt, grimacing quickly after.

‘Ah! Drakiovix metal. Never was a favourite of mine.’

‘Huh?’ Daisy breathed, bewildered.

‘Oh, sorry,’ the Doctor looked up, embarrassed, seeming as though he had only just noticed them, ‘I was just testing for Titan energy.’

‘With your mouth?’ Daisy frowned.

‘Yeah,’ the Doctor grinned, ‘it tastes like metal… ugh it’s disgusting.’

‘Right…’

‘Oh yeah, I forgot you guys can’t taste it. Petty human mouths – I mean, you’re missing the full experience!’ The Doctor knelt back down and continued staring at the soil intensely. Daisy pushed the team towards a space that was out of earshot and created a small group huddle.

‘So who do you think this guy is? Do you think we can trust him?’

‘God no!’ Simmons cried, ‘I mean that man is bizarre. He just appeared with no team, no equipment… And then he licked the ground.’   
Fitz nodded in accord.

‘Yeah I agree, and also, what the hell did he mean when he said ‘human mouths’? What does that make him?’

‘I’m a Time Lord.’

The Doctor popped up with a smile, just behind Fitz and he jumped sideways with a sharp gasp. Within milliseconds Daisy had removed her gun from its holster and had it aimed at the Doctor’s head. 

‘Back away,’ she warned, ‘slowly.’ 

The Doctor put his hands up and started moving away.

‘I would say this is a new experience, having a gun held to my head… but then I’m married to River Song. She’d tell me off for lying…’ The Doctor looked into the distance for a second, and then remembered where he was. ‘Still, I’m not a big fan of having a gun held to my head.’ The Doctor looked Daisy in the eyes, and she bit her lip, ‘really, I didn’t mean any harm.’ Daisy looked at Simmons and she nodded. Slowly she put the gun back into its holder.  
‘Thank you,’ the Doctor said with a touch of enmity, ‘I really hate guns’.

‘Sorry,’ Daisy said, looking down, ‘it’s kind of an mechanical response now.’ She looked down. ‘I never used to be a point and shoot kinda person, but when I joined SHIELD…’ She trailed off. The Doctor smiled understandingly. Somehow his sympathy seemed to fill Daisy with a recognition she had never felt before. There was something deeply fascinating about this guy; she just couldn’t put her finger on what it was. The Doctor lowered his hands from surrender and began to speak.

‘Look… A few days ago, my friends disappeared in front of me. When I realised it was the whole world, I couldn’t understand what had caused it. That was, until I traced the Titan energy to this spot. The Titans have been around for years, but I’d never known them to be this violent. But every race has a bad seed.’

‘You think one person did this.’

‘Well that’s what I was trying to figure out.’

‘Sorry, one question,’ Dasiy asked, ‘Are you human?’ 

‘Umm… not exactly, no. Are you ok with that? Come on, I’m sure you’ve dealt with aliens before, in your line of work. You’ve probably met Thor and got your T-shirt signed or something. And no one tells Thor off because he isn’t a human – he’d be as stroppy of as the time I stole his hammer. Hmm… he’ll probably be wanting that back…’

‘Wait. Hang on, what?’

‘That’s a story for another day…’

‘Ok. I vote this is complete nonsense. Am I the only one who sees that this is nonsense.’ Fitz sighed, rubbing the space between his eyes.

‘Yes, I agree with you on that.’ Simmons rumbled. ‘I mean, according to the astrobiological law of infrastructure, it should be impossible for an extra-terrestrial being to look exactly like us.’

‘Yes – the optimum conditions of an alien planet just could never be identical.’

‘And yet here I am.’ The Doctor smirked, amused. ‘Tell you what, while you guys discuss me in great detail, I will just go over there and study the ground.’ The Doctor gave them a double-thumbs-up, and backed away slowly.

After half and hour’s debate, the team strolled back up to the Doctor (who was somehow still studying the ground) having come to a conclusion.

‘Look, you can trust me,’ he smiled, squinting his eyes. ‘And right now that’s more than you can say about a lot of people.’

The agents looked at each other in contemplation, and then Simmons whispered something to Daisy, who nodded and then spoke.

‘Ok. Well, in this moment of disaster, I don’t see many reasons why we should trust you,’ the Doctor frowned and corrected his bowtie wistfully, ‘but’ Daisy sighed, ‘you do seem to know more than we do. And as you said, that’s all we’ve got.’ 

The Doctor smiled and jumped up.

‘Great. I’ll just get my TARDIS and then we’ll be off. I mean, after all we’re both after the same thing, so you might as well come with me.’ The team nodded and scratched their heads, still confused by what a TARDIS was. The Doctor smiled to himself and looked at his watch. ‘Alright, I’ll be right back.’


	3. The Laws of Physics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Agents marvel at the impossible nature of the TARDIS.

Daisy, Fitz and Simmons spun quickly around, shocked by a sound from behind them. As they turned to face the source of the wheezing and groaning sound, an old blue police box began to fade into focus, taking them all by surprise.

‘What the hell is that?’ Fitz muttered, raising an eyebrow.

‘I have literally no idea.’ Simmons replied, not taking her eyes of the curious object in front of her.

The Doctor, who was inside the TARDIS, stared into the monitor and chuckled to himself. Closing off the monitor, he galloped towards the entrance and flung the doors open.

‘Welcome to my TARDIS!’ He beamed, expecting a more enthusiastic response. The SHIELD team stared at him with equally perplexed looks. The Doctor rolled his eyes and beckoned for them to join him inside. ‘Come on!’   
Daisy shrugged and marched confidently through the doors of the TARDIS. FitzSimmons followed behind more timidly. Once inside, their expressions changed again; they went from extreme caution, to pure awe. Fitz was perhaps the most affected.

‘But… but… this…’ He coughed quietly and scratched his head. ‘This cannot be real. Oh God. I think I’m gonna be sick.’

Fitz ran outside gagging. Simmons looked towards him, worried.

‘Fitz?’ She followed quickly, just in time to see him hurl in the bushes. ‘Oh, Fitz.’ She cooed.

‘That is not normal.’ He croaked. ‘That doesn’t obey the Laws of Physics at all. It goes against everything I know. Everything I’ve worked for.’ He paused for a second, looking up at her, terrified. ‘What the hell is that thing?!’

‘I…I…’ She was almost as taken aback as him. From behind her the Doctor leant out of the TARDIS and called to her.

‘Is he alright?’

‘Yeah, he’s ok.’ Simmons called back, not quite believing herself. She pulled him up and started leading him back towards where the Doctor was standing.

‘Hey mate, are you alright? Do you need an air bag or something… some iced tea? II mean, it’s normal to feel a bit incredulacised when you first see the TARDIS.’ The Doctor smiled, patting Fitz on the back as they walked back into the control room. ‘You’ll get used to it.’

‘Ok, firstly that is not a word…’ He grumbled. ‘But yeah, I suppose I am a bit… incredulcised. What the hell is this place?’

‘Actually, incredulacised is a word. Ever since 2020! And this is my TARDIS. Time-and-relative-dimension-in-space. It’s a time machine and a space ship.’

‘And… it’s bigger on the inside.’ Daisy muttered. Staring intensely at the control panel. ‘How is it bigger on the inside?’

The Doctor smiled smugly to himself. 

‘Oh, the human brain could never understand. It’s much to –’

‘—Is it like another dimension?’ Fitz exclaimed.

‘Yes!’ Simmons added, ‘it could be like a multidimensional object squeezed inside another.’

‘Or better – somehow it could be a gateway to another dimension. Like a bubble universe that can only be seen if a proper alignment takes place.’ FitzSimmons’ eyes glowed.

This time it was the Doctor’s turn to look confused.  
‘Well this doesn’t normally happen.’ The Doctor muttered.

‘Oh, FitzSimmons are really clever.’ Daisy smiled. ‘You get used to it eventually.’

‘Right…’ The Doctor said, dazed. ‘I suddenly feel challenged… It’s scary. I’m going to move on now…’

‘Wait, were we close?’ Fitz asked.

The Doctor thought for a second and then shook his head exaggeratedly gloomily.  
‘Nope, you were miles off.’

‘Ah well. What’re we to know, eh? Petty human brains and that.’ 

The Doctor smiled and then rushed towards the console and flicked a few switches. The TARDIS started groaning again, and the three agents rushed to grip onto something.

After a few minutes of twisting and turning (and grabbing on for dear life), the TARDIS arrived at her destination: 

Titan.


	4. Journey To the Seashell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fitz is affected by the motion of the TARDIS and the group walk across Titan to find Thanos.

‘So here we are.’ The Doctor beamed, spreading his arms out wide as he left the TARDIS. ‘Your first alien planet, I’m assuming.’

Simmons was out second. She took a quick look around at the new planet and winced, remembering how it felt when she landed on Maveth.

‘It’s my third, actually.’ She shrugged, casually. ‘Well, at least it is if you count a human colony in a parallel dimension… Actually if parallel dimensions count, I’ve been in two.’

‘This is your third alien planet?!’ The Doctor exclaimed. ‘Blimey. Being an Agent of SHIELD is a lot more interesting than it used to be.’

Simmons laughed and rolled her eyes.

‘Well… Alien worlds and being enslaved by the Kree weren’t exactly on the job description when I signed up...’

‘Oh and don’t forget the universe of our deepest fears.’ Daisy added, stepping of the TARDIS.

‘Yeah, and Fitz’s killer android girlfriend.’ Simmons grumbled.

‘Oh I dated an android for a few weeks!’ The Doctor grinned. Simmons scowled at him and his smile ran for cover. ‘Yep that probably didn’t help, sorry. Where is Fitz by the way?’

‘I’m not sure. I’ll just go and check.’ 

As Simmons walked towards the door, Fitz stumbled out, holding a brown paper bag and a glass of multi-coloured fluid. He leaned unsteadily from side to side, slurring something about Simmons and someone called Will.

‘Fitz? Are you drunk?’ Simmons gasped. ‘How on Earth are you drunk?!’

The Doctor scratched his head embarrassedly before noticing that Fitz was veering towards the ground, and bolting to catch him. 

‘Yes… That may be my fault. I’m really sorry about that…’

‘What did you give him?’ Simmons exclaimed incredulously.

‘Erm…’ The Doctor laughed nervously. ‘… It was Liquid Flytee.... It helps with the nausea, and he was only meant to take one sip!’

‘Oh Fitz! … And you!’ She pointed at the Doctor fiercely, and Daisy bit back a laugh as the Doctor retreated in fright. ‘What do we do with him now? He’s useless!’

‘This is hilarious!’ Daisy snorted, falling silent (but still giggling slightly) as Simmons cast her a warning glare.

‘Ok, look – I’ll find somewhere comfortable for Fitz in the TARDIS… I mean we can’t exactly bring him with us…’ The Doctor started ushering the intoxicated Fitz (who was giggling profusely about how the name ‘Doctor’ had come back to haunt him) through the TARDIS doors. Within five minutes the Doctor had returned, and was holding the strange liquid. He poured it onto the arid ground; it fizzled and evaporated quickly.

‘Right,’ the Doctor said, ‘lets go.’

********************************************************************************

After a 10-minute trek, the team (now limited to only three members) arrived at what looked like a giant seashell. It was covered in shiny purple marbles that blinked and twinkled in the sun, and the whole building seemed to glow with a radiance that most definitely couldn’t be found on Earth. It was a stunning sight, but as soon as Daisy had seen it, she couldn’t help but feel it was looking at her also. It was as though each little marble was an eyeball, studying her every movement; studying her intentions. Daisy shuddered.

‘Do you think it’s really a good idea to approach from this side of the building-shell-thing? I mean… isn’t it a bit obvious?’ 

Simmons shook her head.

‘No… I mean they know we’re here anyway. If they wanted us dead, we already would be, although I’m still trying to understand how all those people ashed out – as Fitz is calling it – simultaneously. Maybe it was something to do with quantum regularity…’

The Doctor looked at her thoughtfully and smiled.

‘You really are a clever one, aren’t you?’ 

Simmons raised an eyebrow.

‘That’s not patronising at all.’ She grunted, and the Doctor winced.

‘No, no – I didn’t mean it like that! It was meant to be a complement. I’ve watched the entire development of the human race: Ancient Greece and Rome, both World Wars. I watched as you developed with science and music – as you learnt lessons throughout time that improved you as a race; made you kinder. And that’s all because of people like you – who step up and decide to make a difference by using the thing they’re good at.’ He gestured to them both. ‘I bet you don’t even know how many people both of you have inspired.’

‘Thank you,’ Simmons smiled wearily, ‘but nobody even knows who we are, so I don’t know how could we have inspired them.’ 

The Doctor looked down and Daisy shrugged.

‘Well… they know who I am. But I’m famous for all the wrong reasons.’ Daisy grinned. The others laughed. On this planet, the idea of fame felt like a distant memory.

After a while the team fell silent, as they walked through the dense shadow of the towering building. When they drew near to the door, the Doctor got out some kind of device, seemingly in expectation that he could use it to open the door, but when the door clicked open in front of him it no longer seemed necessary, and he flung it back into his pocket, pouting slightly.

Inside, the air was thick with moisture, and – very much unlike the expectation received from the outside grandeur – was extremely visually grotesque. It seemed as though whoever lived there had been overrun with wretchedness, and had given up on the idea of cleanliness. Layers of dirt and grime climbed the walls, and orange centipedes (that were terrifyingly large) snaked across the ground from every angle. The group had to tread lightly to avoid them, a task that was really only suited to the utmost balanced and robust. After a few close collisions, Simmons thanked God that they hadn’t brought Fitz along.

It took over an hour to find the right room in the repulsive building, but it was obvious when they found it, because the lilac colour of the door shone through perfectly. Also, the door was the only thing they had found so far that wasn’t covered in insects – perhaps they had run for cover also. It made the Doctor wonder what kind of creature could create such fear. 

Simmons held in a breath and then sighed deeply.

‘Ok, lets go.’ The Doctor said, winking kindly at Simmons, who appeared rather stressed. Daisy nudged her affectionately and then reached for the door.


	5. Thanos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group meet Thanos, and uncover the truth of what happened to their loved ones.

Walking into the room was like passing between dimensions. Unlike the shoddy, grey murk they’d been expecting, the inside was a palace. The room, which was really more like a well-lit castle, extended for what looked like miles, and shone with a polished radiance that almost blinded the trio on first sight. Gold plates hung from every wall, embroidered with millions upon millions of faces; all separated into categories of species. The ground and walls were pure silver, and were polished to perfection – each person was gifted with a vision of themself from every angle, which understandably soon became disorientating. 

‘Who are all these people?’ Simmons whispered, gently resting her hand upon one of the many gold plates.

‘I have a hunch…’ The Doctor muttered, ‘but I really hope I’m wrong.’

The group walked on for few minutes, until Daisy noticed the Doctor had dropped behind. When she turned back she noticed he had laid his hand on a particular engraving and was looking solemnly at the ground. She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

‘Who is she?’ Daisy smiled.

The Doctor turned to her surprised.

‘Her name’s Amy Pond, and she’s incredible. Truly amazing. She doesn’t deserve this… She doesn’t deserve me – this lifestyle I’ve forced upon her – it’s unhealthy.’

‘Hey calm down Mr Blame.’ Daisy rolled her eyes. ‘From what I’ve gathered of your lifestyle, Amy had the choice to back out at any moment. Don’t blame yourself for her choices.’ The Doctor scratched his head, used to being on the other end of a pep talk, and coughed awkwardly. ‘Besides, we’re gonna save her.’ Daisy grinned, surely. ‘Now get a move on! Simmons is getting touchy.’

After a few more minutes of walking, they neared the end of the giant hall. It was relatively empty at this point, however the subtle shrines on the walls were also joined by thick pillars of platinum, which championed certain war heroes. Morbidly, the central pillar was the statue of a young girl balancing a small knife on her finger. 

As the group drew closer, they could feel the hairs stand up on their neck, and it felt as though every molecule of air was being drawn from their lungs and wrapped, like a cloth across their mouths, to smother further breaths. Before them lay a cold slab of marble, that in some plain world could be compared to a throne. It was not embroidered or painted gold, nor had the keeper made any effort to cut the edges with any precision. And yet there he sat. The purple moron ruled the universe, needing only a glove and a marble chair.

The Doctor eyed him curiously and frowned. For an all-powerful being he seemed rather weary. He wouldn’t expect anything less. The Doctor had learnt of the Infinity Stones as a child, but had never wished to seek them out. He’d heard so many stories of the price they demanded. Once, hundreds of years ago, he had been offered to govern the Mind Stone, but the Doctor refused on the basis that he’d never trust himself with that much power. Instead the stone had been hidden in the impenetrable vaults of Keldrav, where the Doctor had believed it would be safe. He was wrong.

Thanos sighed.

‘Well look who it is.’ He grumbled, ‘I mean, it wasn’t like I was expecting you or anything.’

Simmons looked at Daisy, eyebrow raised and Thanos laughed.

‘Oh my dear, you didn’t think you came here by choice did you?’  
Simmons’ eyes widened and she struggled to speak but no words came out.   
The Doctor looked at Thanos dangerously.

‘Give Jemma her voice back.’

Thanos laughed slyly and shook his head.

‘She’ll talk when I want her to… when it is important. Right now she is not needed.’ Thanos flicked his wrist and Simmons flew sideways against the wall. The silver walls seemed to melt into her, engulfing her, prohibiting her movement. The Doctor and Daisy watched horror-struck and frozen. Daisy wondered if she couldn’t run towards her friend because of Thanos, or merely out of fear. She pointed her palms towards Thanos, but no quake came. Releasing her hands, she fell to the floor, defeated. The Doctor looked at Thanos with an increased look of bitterness.

‘Ok you big purple lump, since you brought us here… what do you want?’

Thanos looked amused.

‘I brought you here to do exactly what you think you’re here to do… To persuade me to bring them all back.’  
The Doctor thought for a second, utterly confused, and then scratched his head.

‘So you persuaded us to come here in order to persuade us to persuade you to persuade the universe to get things back on track?.... Isn’t that a bit long-winded?’

Thanos laughed and shook his head. 

‘You really are all they say you are Doctor… but I think you’ve missed the point. The problem is, I have completed everything I aimed to do in my life.’

The Doctor cocked his head.

‘And…. I can help you how?’

‘Acquiring the Stones cost me everything. I need your help to get her back.’  
The Doctor sneered and curled his lip in anguish, thinking of Amy.

‘The Soul stone took that life for a reason. That pain you felt when you lost…’ he lent over to look at the base of the statue near him ‘Gamora… That was how billions of people felt across the universe when you took their loved ones from them. Surely you saw this coming when you were scheming, surely you saw what corrupt emotions your plans would lead to.’

‘Of course.’ Thanos said absolutely. ‘There is no peace without sacrifice.’

The Doctor looked incredulously, at the hideous lunatic before him. He was both repulsed and revolted, and yet utterly fascinated. This man genuinely believed he had done right to the universe.

‘How can you say that?’

‘Because I’m a monster.’ He said gloomily. A delicate tear snowballed down his rugged cheek. ‘That’s what she always said… My beautiful Gamora. And that’s why I brought you here. I need you to use the Mind Stone against me. Force me to bring them back. I can’t do it myself because I am weak, corrupted by power. I could never let them all go willingly. I know myself.’

The Doctor looked at the ground and said nothing for what felt like an age. It made sense. Thanos must have known that the Doctor had the capability of wielding the Mind Stone, and if he gave it to him he would be able to persuade Thanos to give up the rest of the Stones. But nonetheless, the Doctor had refused the stone for a reason, and he wasn’t going to give in now. When he spoke his voice was clear but dubious.

‘No. I will not use it on you. I will not be corrupt by power in the same way you were.’

Thanos scowled and rose from his chair. 

‘I thought you would say that.’ He glowered. ‘That’s why they’re here.’ He motioned to the two other members of the group – one was unconscious inside the wall and the other who was having a silent breakdown. ‘Oh, right.’ Thanos flicked his wrist again: Simmons was released from the wall and Daisy was freed from the unknown trauma Thanos had inflicted to keep her quiet.

Simmons grumbled and put her hand to her throat.

‘I swear, if one more person stops me from being able to talk I am really going to start taking it personally! First the Kree and now this creep!’ she realised everyone was looking at her, grimaced and quickly fell quiet. ‘Um could somebody catch me up on what’s happened, please?’


	6. The Doctor's Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor must make a choice that will affect the future of the universe.

‘Ok. So let me get this straight: you have both the abilities and the equipment to defeat this dude, and yet you refuse to because it goes against your personal guidelines?’

Daisy was strutting back and forth, getting gradually more anxious and irritable. Simmons was trying desperately to calm her down, however it was clear how distressed she was herself. The Doctor put his head in his hands and groaned. Daisy attacked him again.

‘You realise how selfish you’re being right now? This is everyone. Half the universe.’ 

‘It’s not like you have to hold a fifth of the universe’s power in your hand and then use it to control someone’s mind!’ He shouted. ‘What do you expect me to do?!’

‘Oh, I don’t know – compromise your morals! Don’t tell me you never have before.’

‘Ok, ok,’ Simmons got between them and pushed Daisy to the side, ‘look do you mind if I have a go. I’ve got a slightly different approach. You know, I’m the carrot approach and you’re the approach where you just yell-until-they-drop.’

Daisy sighed.

‘Yeah, ok. Sorry, I’m just really frustrated.’

‘I can tell! But you need to focus – we’ve been in life-or-death situations before. And we’ve figured it out… like 62% of the time… Ok I’m going to go and talk to him. You stay here.’

Simmons walked timidly over to where the Doctor was sitting with his head in his hands. He looked up at her and smiled solemnly.

‘If Amy were here right now she’d be as angry as Daisy. I don’t blame you if you’re here to try and persuade me.’

‘I’m not going to try and persuade you.’ Simmons lied. ‘I just thought you might need some help coming up with an alternative solution. I bet you started planning one as soon as Thanos started talking.’

The Doctor smiled in reminiscence.

‘Those were the days. But no… I hate to disappoint you but I’ve got nothing. I genuinely think this is our only choice. I always knew this day would come. It’s like the universe is taunting me: “It’s either you or everyone else. Make your choice.”’ He paused for a moment and rubbed between his eyes. ‘The problem is, just as Thanos does, I know myself.’ He looked at Simmons and sighed. ‘I know that if I hold that Stone I may never be able to recover from its power. I’ll keep trying to fix everything in my life, keep trying to be a god. And there’ll be no one there to stop me.’

Simmons bit her lip and thought for a second. She knew that perhaps she was crossing the line, as they were treading on dangerous territory, but for whatever reason, she believed in this man. 

‘You’re wrong.’ She uttered seriously. The Doctor looked surprised. ‘There will be people there to stop you. There will Daisy and I. And before you say anything, I know you think that we aren’t capable, but just like you we’ve been through an awful lot, and we have succeeded. There’s a reason Thanos brought us together. It’s because we can succeed.’ The Doctor still looked slightly unsure, but he nodded nonetheless. ‘After all, what are our other options?’

The Doctor stood up and walked closer to Simmons, so that he was only a foot away.

‘Can I be sure that I can trust you?’

‘Yes.’ Simmons announced immediately. She gave the impression that she was very sure of herself.

‘Ok then… I’m going to tell you something I haven’t told anyone in a very long time. But you have to make sure you keep it a secret, and never utter it aloud. If you’re sure this will work then I’m going to tell you something that, in a way, will let you control me…’

The Doctor whispered something in Simmons ear and her eyes widened. She didn’t fully understand what the Doctor had said, but somehow it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever heard. A tear rolled down the Doctor’s cheek, and he walked towards Thanos.

‘Ok you purple bozo… Bring it on.’

Thanos glared at him, both resentful and grateful. He pulled the Mind stone from his gauntlet and reached out to give it to the Doctor. As it fell into his hand, the whole world seemed to light up. Golden fire burned around the Doctor in a dazzling circle, stopping Simmons and Daisy from being able to see him. Suddenly the light exploded from every angle, knocking them to the ground. The Doctor’s words boomed thorough their bodies and blasted their ears.

‘Release the souls you have taken, and release yourself from the Stones’ hold of you.’ He pointed at Thanos with the intensity of a million furious schoolteachers, all pointing a one child.

Thanos put his hands to his head and screamed. The sound was like a low rasping foghorn, which pierced through their skulls. He ripped the gauntlet from his hand and the Stones went flying through the air, scattered to different sides of the universe. Thanos was defeated.

The light around the Doctor continued to grow brighter, as he started to float three meters into the air. Simmons remembered what she had to do, and ran towards him. The world around her seemed to go silent as she breathed in slowly, ready to call out a word that had the power to change her forever.  
She opened her mouth to speak but then there was no need. As Simmons looked in his eyes, the light faded and the Doctor collapsed to the floor. The Stone rolled from his hand, and lay to rest by Simmons’ foot. She didn’t touch it, or even take a double glance. Moving towards the Doctor she knelt down next to him and rested her hand on his shoulder.

‘Thank you,’ he said, ‘thank you so much.’

********************************************************************************

After a few hours of walking, thinking and conferring the group arrived back at the TARDIS and the Doctor explained everything to a very confused Fitz.

‘But where’s Thanos now? Won’t he just go and seek out the Stone’s again?’ Fitz asked.

‘No. Thanos is dead.’ The Doctor informed. ‘When he ripped the gauntlet off it must have been too much for his body to cope with – all of the Stones disappearing so suddenly. And he won’t be coming back any time soon. Users of the Soul Stone are imprisoned in it once they die. It’s their curse I suppose.’

‘But what about the Mind Stone?’ Fitz pushed.  
The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out the small stone.

‘I’m pretty sure I can control it now,’ he smiled, throwing it into the air and catching it, ‘but nonetheless I’m going to hide it… Somewhere in my TARDIS. After all, it is a whole dimension.’

‘Ah you see, it is a dimension!’ Fitz whooped.

Simmons giggled and reached out to embrace Fitz for the third time since they had arrived back at the TARDIS.

‘I missed you.’ She teased, pecking him on the cheek.

The Doctor smiled to himself and Daisy rolled her eyes.

‘Ugh, get a room.’ 

Simmons laughed and freed Fitz who looked as though he had been ever-so-slightly suffocated by her hug.

‘You know, while you were gone I kind of got used to this place. I think I might miss it…’ Fitz sighed. The Doctor grinned and patted him on the shoulder.

‘Well you’re welcome back any time you like.’

‘Yeah that’s if we can find you.’ Daisy laughed. ‘Which will never happen.’

The Doctor pulled a lever and the TARDIS zoomed into the sky. Daisy gave the Doctor the coordinates for the Quinjet they’d been on when people disappeared, and within minutes they were reunited. The other agents were confused by the Doctor’s presence, but Simmons shrugged it off, saying it was a long story.

‘Sometimes it’s better not to say anything.’ She winked at the Doctor and he saluted goofily.

‘Well, I better be off,’ he said, ‘Amy and Rory will be wondering where I am. I left them stranded at a spice shop in Canada!’

‘It was great meeting you Doc.’ Daisy smiled, waving.

‘Yeah and remember to warn people in the future before giving them multi-coloured liquid!’ Fitz added sarcastically, rolling his eyes. The Doctor pulled a slightly embarrassed face.

‘It was great to meet you all. Please try not to die. Agents always seem to die, and it’s really rather annoying. And I’m quite fond of you guys!’

Simmons rolled her eyes and they all waved. Within seconds the TARDIS had faded into small specs of existence. It was as though nothing had ever happened.

‘Saving the world again,’ Daisy grinned, looking at the empty spot where the TARDIS had been, ‘just another day at the office.’


End file.
